One Year of Joy
by evclgsb
Summary: Ross and Rachel's one year anniversary after She got off the plane.


Disclaimer- I do not own Friends or anything associated with it, it all belongs to Marta Kaufman, David Crane and maybe Kevin S. Bright, only I'm not sure about that one, anyway I own nothing!

One Year of Joy

Ross lay awake in bed looking at the goregous woman that was sound asleep beside him. He had fallen in love with Rachel in the ninth grade, and had loved her ever since. Now that they were together for the long haul, he was happier then ever. She snored a little, very quietly. Ross looked at her and brushed some hair away from her face. Rachel looked angelic and radiant while she slept. She always does though, thought Ross. Her chest was slowly rising and falling, ensuring she was in a deep sleep.A smile crept on his face. He couldn't help it, he always smiled around her. They were more in love then ever, a real family at last. A faint muffled cry drifted to Ross's ear. Emma. The child Rachel and him shared. His smile grew wider as he rolled out of bed carefully, so he wouldn't wake Rachel.

He walked into Emma's bedroom and looked inside her crib. She was looking up at him, thumb in mouth. "Hey Em, how are you this evening?" He whispered as he lifted her up into his arms. Ross started to rock his body back and fourth. Emma's cries stopped quickly. "You better get to sleep, it's one AM." He told his daughter. She closed her eyes. I am the luckiest man in the world. I have the most beautiful daughter ever, she looks just like Rachel. Ross was thinking about his daughter and girlfriend again. He found himself doing this a lot lately. "okay" he lowered Emma back in her crib and tip-toed out of her room. As he got into bed he looked at Rachel once more and smiled.

The next day, Rachel and Ross were talking while eating breakfast. "Can you believe that Emma's two years old already?" Rachel asked Ross, then sipping some coffee. "I know, it seemed like she was born just yesterday" Ross replied. "hm…not really?" Rachel muttered back. "So what are you doing today?" She continued. "Uh, just some lectors." Ross said. "I feel so sorry for your classes today." Rachel sarcastically smirked. "hey, I'm not boring!" Ross firmly stated. "Yes you are honey." She said quietly. "I'm really excited to stay home with Emma today." Rachel veered the subject back to their daughter. "Yeah, maybe we should get Monica to come over." Ross answered "I can do this, I'm ganna be a mother, and just a mother today." Ross glanced at his watch "I better go, bye rach" He kissed her quickly on the lips and smiled "I love you" "Love you too" Rachel smiled back at him. He grabbed his suit case and headed out the door.

Ross had just finished his last lector before his lunch break and was packing up. "Could that have _been _anymore boring" A voice came from the back, it was Chandler. "Yeah, what was that thing about bones? Oh what are you doing, you can't stack you papers like that!" Monica hurried over and fixed Ross's stack. "Thanks so much for coming you guys, I really want to get Rachel the perfect ring." Ross ingnored his sister and brother-in-law's comments. "No problem" Monica answered " I can't believe you are finally ganna ask Rachel to marry, you" She continued to clean his desk. "Yeah, I mean, took you long enough. What happened to I'm in love with Rachel, I'd ask her to marry me any day." Chandler mimcked Ross. "Hey, I wanted Emma and her to get settled first." He stated. "Sure, come on Mon, you can clean Ross's desk later." Chandler grabbed his wife my the arm. "Yes! Haha!" Monica laughed. "You better keep it that way, I'll teach you how to organize" Monica seriously stated. The three old friends walked out the door.

At a jewlery store in Manhatten, Monica, Chandler and Ross were looking at engagement rings for Rachel. "Oh, I found the perfect ring!" Monica shouted. "Oh my god, it's perfect!" Ross exclaimed quietly. "I know!" Monica stated in her usual loud fashion. "You, guys before you Ross and the ring become Joanie loves Cachi, look at the price." Chandler pointed to the pricetag. "10,000 dollars! These beds are ripping us off!" Monica pointed at a salesman. "It's okay, I'll get it." Ross gazed at the ring before walking to the salesman that Monica just pointed to. "Um, can you tell me about this ring?" he questioned "Yes, it is a princess cut, very high quality ring. Very, very clear. The light pink diamond is very in right now and the silver setting is magnifcent" The salesman rattled off the details, then looked at Ross "Someone's actually dating you?" He asked amoused. "Yes, I've been married, 3 times!" Ross held up three fingers. "Yeah, and obviously divorced" The salesman laughed. "hey it wasn't my fault!" Ross screamed. "Ross let ig, let it go now." Chandler told his friend. "I'll take it, Rachel will love it." Ross smiled. "How are you ganna afford it?" Monica asked. "I've been waiting since the ninth grade Mon, the other rings were really low priced, dimanique." He replied like it was obvious, rolling his eyes. "right" Monica looked at him like she smelled rotten fish.

At that same moment, Rachel was trying to feed Emma. "Come on sweetie, eat the peas, eat the peas for mommy" Rachel urged her daughter. "Now I know why nannys get paid so much" She muttered to herself. "Daddy love Mama" Emma laughed, hitting her hand son the table. Rachel grinned. "Yep, daddy loves mommy." Rachel repeated tp her daughter. She had never thought about giving Ross another chance, but she always seemed to anyway. Now, she was glad she had. He was the perfect boyfriend and she was so in love with him. They had made this beautiful child together. Her and Ross was the way it was supposed to be forever, she could just feel it. "Come on Em, eat up, yum, yum, yum" rachel tried once more to get her baby to eat the peas.

"I'm back" Ross said as he strolled into the room. Rachel was jumping up and down screaming "Emma's picking her nose, Emma's picking her nose!" She was smiling widely. "I was her the first time she did that Ross!" "Rach, Emma's. Picking. Her. Nose." He said the words one at a time. "oh, eww, eww make her stop, make her stop!" Rachel sqealed. She had stopped jumping and had a disgusted look on her face. "Emma, stop that." Ross firmly looked at his daughter, before grabbing a tissue and pulling her finger out. He cover it with a tissue, then cleaned it with a baby wip. "There, don't do that again" He looked at his daughet seriously before smiling. "uh, will she do that again? Rachel was still standing far away. "Probably" Ross informed her. This caused Rachel to make a disgused face. "It's okay" Ross wiped his hands and pulled Rachel into his arms. "We'll work though this stage, together" he added as an after thought. Then they kissed passionatly. "Mama love daddy!" Emma giggled, just like she had earlier.

Rachel wa getting ready for her date with Ross. She was wearing a beautiful light pink dress. It was strapless with little snowflakes printed all over it. The gown fell to her ankles, where she wore white kitten-heeled shoes. Her hair was up in a loss bun with some select strands falling out. Rachel was trying to put in a diamond earring as she heard the door open. "Ross, I'm not ready yet, stop rushing me!" She exclaimed. "Rachel Green, you should be ready by now!" Phoebe joked in a low voice. "Pheebs!" Rachel smiled and hugged her old friend. "Thanks so much for watching Emma tonight we really appreciate it." She looked at Phoebe seriously "No problem, I'm really excited to hang out with my neice, girl talk…she can talk right?" Phoebe asked. "Because if she can't it will be really boring" "She can talk" Rachel stated. She put in her last earring and grabbed her purse. "How do I look?" Rachel twirld once. "Not as good as me, but uh" Phoebe smiled "Now go get 'em tigger" She shouted as Rachel left.

Ross and Rachel are driving to a resturant in a yellow taxi. "I'm so sorry about the taxi, We're celebrating the night you got off the plane and we're sitting in a taxi!" Ross looks at Rachel likes he's sorry. "If only the companu would have remember my request for a lim-ooooo!" He states rather loudly. "It's okay, the taxi's fine, really" Rachel tried to sooth Ross and rubbed his leg gently. "I just wanted this night to be perfect." Ross nodded softly "I know, it will be okay, as long as we're together" Rachel smiled at him. "yeah…I just wish we were in a lim-ooooo!" Ross shouted at the driver again.

At the resturant, Rachel and Ross are sitting in a both, litered with candles. "this was so nice of you, are you sure you can afford it?" Rachel questioned. "No, but I'll find a way." Ross answered her. The waiter walked up to them and inquired "What would you like to drink?" "um, white wine please." Ross told him. The waiter walked away and came back. "I'll pour it" Ross stated. "Anything else?" The waiter asked. "No we're fine" Ross answered. "Ross? Can I do it?" Rachel asked. "Sure honey" he handed her the bottle. She held it in her hands and pulled hard, causing the wine to spill all over the table. "ow!" Rachel put the wine down and started looking at her hands. "That's okay." Ross poured the remaining wine in there glasses and continued to wipe the table clean. After the table was cleaned Rachel proposed a toast. " To one happy year, and many to come" She ginned widely. They tinked glasses and each took a sip.

"Do you remember wanting to be Princess Caroline?" Rossed asked his girlfriend. "Um, I never told you that." Rachel answered. "That's why I have friends" Ross smiled at her for what must have been the millionth time that night. "Well, today, you'll get your own castle." As he said those words, the waiter came back and put a choclate cake in front of the couple. It wa shaped like a castle and has 2 little frosting planes around it. "I thought the planes were appropriate too." Ross looked for Rachels reaction. "Thank you so much!" She leaned over the table and kissed him passionatly. "I love it!" She grabbed a fork scooped a piece of cake on it. "open wide" She grinned and feed Ross the first piece of cake laughing.

Ross and Rachel were waiting in the museum, right outside the planetaruim. "What are we doing here?" Rachel asked. "You'll see" Ross smirked back. After a moment of silence, Ross spoke again. "Come in when theat little green light turns on, okay?" He pointed to th light, kissed her on th forehead and briskly walked into the planetarium. Just then, Rachel's phone started to ring. She unzipped her purse and put it to her ear. "Hello, Rachel speaking." "Hey, How ya doin'?" Joey's voice came across the reciever. "Joey!" Rachel squealed, she hadn't talked to him in at least two months. "So, anything new or exciting going on with you?" He asked Rachel, trying to get her to tell him something. "Nope, not really, just on my date with Ross." She answered his question easily. "oh, so he hasn't um…" Joey's voice trailed off. "hasn't what?" Rachel was more confused then ever now. "um, hasn't, um,oh…told you about my audition for the part of Raggedy Anne." Joey covered as fast as he could. "No, hey isn't Raggedy Anne that puppet from the Wizard of Oz?" Rachel inquired. "Um yeah, whatever you say Rach." Joey replied. "Oh, I have to go, the green light just went on, bye." Rachel said into the reciever. "Bye, wait what green light?" Joey asked, but it was too late, rachel had already hung up.

As Rachel walked into the planetarium, the sound of Fred Astaire's "The Way You Look Tonight" floated like a cloud to her ears. The room was filled with her favorite flower, white liles. There was a distinguished path to where Ross was standing, because of the white carpet that was showing. "oh my god"Rachel had a surprised look on her face and tears were briming in her eyes. She walked up to Ross and he got down on one knee. At that very moment, the stars in the sky formed the words "Will you marry me?" Rachel looked down lovingly at Ross. "Rachel Greene, I have loved you since the ninth grade. I can't imagine my life without you. You have become a part of me, and make me so happy. We share the most beautiful daughter in the world. I love you more than anything. Will you marry me?" He whispered up at her. "Yes" She smiled. Ross put the ring on her finger and hugged her tight. A single tear of joy fell from Rachel's face. When they broke the hug, Ross kissed Rachel passionatly trying to show her how she made him feel. Rachel then examined the ring on her finger. "Did Monica pick this out?" she grinned. "How did you know that?" Ross questioned her. "She was the only one who knew I wanted a pink princess cut diamond as my enagagement ring. "oh, I'm glad I brought her then, so do you like it?" "I love it!" Rachel smiled and hugged her finacee once more.

The End


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